History

BEŞİKTAŞ JK's FIRST CREST AND COLOURS

For years, the original colours of the Beşiktaş were believed to be Red and White; and then temporarily changed into Black and White as a sign of mourning for the dead in Balkan Wars, which included some players of the club. Although most written sources endorse this claim, a detailed study carried out for Beşiktaş’s 100th anniversary documentary had shown that red was never used in club’s first colors; and Beşiktaş’s colours were always Black and White. The 100th Anniversary documentary produced by Mr. Tuğrul Yenidoğan, has put an end to further arguments on the subject once and for all.  

Since, at the beginning, only individual sports were being practiced in the Osman Pasha Mansion, there was no need for team colours or uniform. However, as the number of active sportsmen increased each passing day; Mehmet Şamil Bey, who had graduated from a well-known French school, asked the Founders Committee to hold a meeting on finding a badge for the club. He removed the pin badge he used in his school days bearing the colours of his school from his lapel and showed it around. He said, “We must have a crest just like this one, and all club members must wear it.” Those attending the meeting eagerly agreed to Mehmet Şamil Bey’s proposal. At the end of the meeting, the colours of the Club to be shown on the crest were decided. The two principal colors of nature in full contrast to each other were chosen as the Club colours: Black and White…

The date Beşiktaş’s crest inspired by the pins of a French school has carried the date of “1906,” the year of its first issue, in Latin. At the top, the word “Beşiktaş” was written in Arabic, with the letter “J” on the right and the letter “K” on the left. The inscription at the back of the shows that it was made in “Konstantinopolis,” and the seal of the craftsman who made the crest is placed in the middle. It is interesting that the star on the crest on the pin has six points. This six-pointed star had been used until the Second Constitutional Monarchy in 1908. The original crest was presented to our Honorary Chairman Süleyman Seba by Iskender Yakak